February Fantasy
by faded harmony
Summary: They've spent many Valentine's days together, but these might just be the oddest in any relationship. In one special month every year, there is ice cream, unexpected news, cupcakes, candy, missing boyfriends, Monopoly, tumblr, fangirling siblings, and a certain goddess of Love intent on wreaking havoc on the relationships of two special people. Oneshot. Piper/Leo.


**Title: **February Fantasy

**Words: **~ 8,000

**Rating: **T [because I can]

**Pairing: **Leo/Piper [Side pairings of Percy/Annabeth and Hazel/Frank and suggested Jason/Reyna]

**Dedication: **Valentine's day challenge on dA.

**A/N - **There's a lot of puns in this. I'm feeling horribly pun-ny today. Sorry. Plus I was in the mood for something fluffy, but not too romantic or I'd throw up a rainbow. (Oh I apologize for the sudden vomiting in the story haha.) I was listening to Green Day's 'American Idiot' album while writing this. How odd. Hope you guys enjoy! Happy [early] Valentine's Day! :D

* * *

_**February Fantasy**_

* * *

_Where has that old friend gone_  
_Lost in a February song_  
_Tell him it won't be long_  
_'Til he opens his eyes, opens his eyes_  
_Where is that simple day_  
_Before colors broke into shades_  
_And how did I ever fade_  
_Into this life, into this life_

_And I never want to let you down_  
_Forgive me if I slip away_  
_When all that I've known is lost and found_  
_I promise you I, I'll come back to you one day_

_Morning is waking up_  
_And sometimes it's more than just enough_  
_When all that you need to love_  
_Is in front of your eyes_  
_It's in front of your eyes_

_And I never want to let you down_  
_Forgive me if I slip away_  
_Sometimes it's hard to find the ground_  
_Cause I keep on falling as I try to get away_  
_From this crazy world_

_And I never want to let you down_  
_Forgive me if I slip away_  
_When all that I've known is lost and found_  
_I promise you I, I'll come back to you one day_

_Where has that old friend gone_  
_Lost in a February song_  
_Tell him it won't be long_  
_'Til he opens his eyes_  
_Opens his eyes_

- Josh Groban, "_February Song_"

* * *

**Caring for the Cupcakes; Construction of the Argo II**

* * *

_Love is for fools._  
For a daughter of love and a son of crafting fire.

He'd been _busy_. That's what he always said, and as time passed she began to miss his constant annoying and loving attention at breakfasts. So by the time December and January had passed, Piper had put her foot down and stormed into the bunker. Jason had tried to reason with her, but she flashed him irritated eyes and threw a pillow at his face and slammed the door. "Don't tell me what I can't do, Jason Grace!"

She was cold. Very cold. She had only her light jacket and no gloves, and it had snowed just recently and only in her fuzzy panda slippers. Plus her hands were full with a tiny red cupcake, so she couldn't hold her arms and try to warm herself.

The stupid door wouldn't open for her. She banged on it with one hand and kicked the side. So when he didn't hear her knocking, she took more drastic measures.  
"LEO VALDEZ!" She yelled as loudly and as forcefully as she could. "YOU WILL OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW, OR SO HELP ME I _WILL_ COME IN THERE AND RIP YOU FROM YOUR SHIP AND STRING YOU UP BY THE-"

Piper was needless to say, quite surprised, when he slid open the earthen door and had the most utterly concerned and confused expression on his face. "What's all the banging for?" He yawned and stretched his arms. "Is the camp in danger?"

"Our _relationship _ is in danger! You're my _friend_, Valdez, where have you been?"

He looked at her with the most incredulous expression. "Yeah. Okay. Relationship. Well I gotta work on my ship, so if you don't mind I have to-" He started to close the door and force her out.

She pushed her hand in the way, her eyes staring him down. "Leo Valdez, you _better_ not push me out of your workshop, or I will charmspeak you to come out and jump in the lake. Do you understand me?"

Leo dropped his arms, and stepped back. "What's up, then? Why the sudden, uh, concern? I'm fine!"

_No you're not_, Piper's mind screamed. The bags under his eyes had gotten worse from stress and lack of sleep (either from work overload or nightmares) and he looked paler and thinner.  
"Nope," Piper pushed her way inside and shoved him into a desk chair and pulled another up to him so they were face to face. He had landed on it backwards, so he folded his arms over the back of the chair and looked at her. "There is something wrong with you, Leo Valdez. When was the last time you slept?" She had the most beyond infuriated expression on her face that Leo had ever seen on her.

Leo blinked his eyes a few times like he had trouble hearing her. He suppressed another yawn. "Don't remember. Tuesday? Last week?"

This didn't seem to put him in a better position. Piper's scowl looked permanently attached. "Why have you been skipping breakfast?"

Leo frowned. "I'm not hungry."

"_Liar_."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Then why have you been silent so sudden? February started and you won't even leave this place?"

"Because I'm alone!" Leo snapped at her, stepping off the chair and angrily marching between the tables. "Don't you ever wonder if I'm tired of being around everyone else and want some time alone?"

"Calm down," Piper ordered.

"No! I will most certainly not calm down, you- you- Piper McLean!" He thrust his hands up and tugged at his hair like he was about to rip it out. "Infuriating! Get out!"

"Calm," Piper said in a much cooler tone. "Calm Leo, you're smoking."

Leo looked between his arms and saw, indeed, his shirt was starting to smoke. Rings of smoke furled off his hair, making him look like a tiny smokestack in a factory. He pointed a finger at Piper, accusingly, but not as worked up. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"To get some emotion out of you," Piper nodded. "You've been so...robotic. You don't sound like yourself." She patted to the computer chair next to her. "Sit down and tell me what's going on." She didn't give him an '_or_' option this time, because it was obey and listen to Beauty Queen _or_ suffer the most painful consequences.

Leo sat next to her and spun a few times on his wheely chair for fun (wheely chairs make everything more fun!) and Buford scattered from under another desk and chased him around. When he settled back down, and faced Piper again, Buford whizzed his mechanics happily and hummed and sat next to Leo like a purring cat. Piper waited.

Leo didn't say anything, but glanced behind her and noticed the wrapper. He raised both eyebrows. "Is that a cupcake, McLean?"

"What if it is?"

"And you didn't share any with me?" Leo looked offended and crossed a hand over his chest. "You mortally offend me, Queenie."

Piper stared at him for a moment, her expression unreadable. She finally broke into a grin, and pulled the cupcake out and held it out to him like a treat. "Happy Valentines Day, Leo."

The sprinkles were lopsided like she had only done half of it, and the icing looked uneven and perhaps a little unsafe, but despite this Leo broke into the widest grin Piper had ever seen on him. She split the cupcake in half with her fingers and handed him the torn piece.

For the next few minutes they talked and ate cupcake and Leo smeared icing all over his hands. When Piper was licking her fingers off to clean the icing off, he reached over and dragged his fingers down the side of her cheek so she had racing striped icing. A dangerous and challenging smirk played over his face at Piper's horrified expression.

But she smirked too and whipped icing off the wrapper and swiped it onto his face as well. Now they had matching stripes, and they only looked at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing. Leo's laugh sounded a little forced, and soon after he leaned back against a desk and fell asleep.

Piper tucked him in with a spare blanket she found and left the image of him smiling in his sleep on the table and she smiled too and left the bunker and walked back in her pajamas.

"If only it was April," she sighed as she walked. "We're all just fools."

* * *

**_Hidden Underground; One Year Later_**

* * *

She was awoken by the sound of tapping. Insistent, annoying tapping. She spun off her bed and angrily groaned "Which one of you little-" but she noticed there was something sitting on the foot of her bed.

Lacy was already up, and she saw the package and did a squeak and flapped her arms and made pterodactyl screeches from her mouth and jumped up and down with excitement. Piper made a mental note to restrict her from tumblr and fangirling for the next week or so [or the rest of her life.]

Piper huffed and blew hair from her eyes as she opened it. Inside was a large box of random candies, from Wonka candy to chocolate and sour gummy bears. Her mouth watered at some of them, but she was mostly looking at the stack of pictures on top of all the times her and Leo hung out. There was also a pink cupcake with heart sprinkles on the top, and she picked it up and turned it over with her hands.

"Oh my gods!" Lacy squealed. "I can't believe your boyfriend did this all for you!"

"Speaking of which," Piper pulled out her own present from under her pillow. She was still im pajamas. "I have to give him mine. Time to take a visit to Cabin ten."

She shoved on her panda slippers- the same ones she had worn the year before to hunt down Leo from the bunker- and headed for his cabin. She pushed the door open with no obtruding figures (last time there was a desk blocking her out the week before) and peeked in the sleeping cabin.

Harley was rolled halfway off his bunk, so Piper decided to wake him up. He groaned and rolled over before focusing on her. "Hello," he yawned. "What'cha need?"

"Where's Leo?"

Harley vaguely swatted in a direction like he was trying to rid a pesky fly. "Asleep. He was up late last night working. I'm gonna sle..." He was snoring before he finished the sentence and smacked into a pillow.

Piper frowned as she peeked in Leo's bunk. The bed was empty, but unmade. Typical Leo. However the owner of the bed was missing.

After twenty minutes of vigorously searching his cabin, she had a deep frown on her face as she headed for cabin six.

Instead of walking through the front door and waking up all of Annabeth's siblings, she pried open the window next to Annabeth's bunk and groped her hand around she found the pillow Annabeth was presumably resting on and ripped it out from under her.

There was a loud _OOF!_ and a loud moan, and someone peeked their head over the windowsill. Annabeth's hair looked like a badger had decided to dig through it, and her eyes were still off in dreamland. She needed coffee most likely, but Piper wanted answers.

"Where's Leo?" She demanded.

Annabeth yawned twice before answering and sleepily blinked at Piper. "In his cabin, probably asleep, like I was." She glared and woke up a little, as she tried snatched her pillow back. They played tug-of-war for it for a few minutes until Annabeth ripped it out of her hands. "Why'd you wake me up?"

"I can't find him. His bed was empty and his cabinmates haven't seen him."

Annabeth yawned again and held up a finger. "Try the forges. Then the Big House. Maybe Percy's cabin, and then the Bunker."

"Okay. And if I don't find him?"

"Find me again and panic," Annabeth crawled back into her bunk and passed out on the pillow. Since the forges were closest, Piper tried there first. No one was home, and the door was locked. Leo couldn't have gotten in there so early. Next she went to Percy's cabin and woke him up, and he was about as helpful and a morning person as Annabeth. When she asked him where Leo was he said "Somewhere." and threw a pillow for her to get out for emphasis. She would have to ask someone more helpful.

Next she was on the deck of the Big House, and Chiron was already up and having a blueberry muffin for breakfast. Mr. D sat next to him sipping Diet Pepsi and glaring at her.

She was a little breathless when she asked them. "Has anyone-" gasp for air as her lungs shriveled up; "seen Leo?"

"No," Mr. D snapped.  
"I'm afraid not," Chiron frowned. "Why, is there some urgent reason you need to find him?"

Piper was unsure how to answer that. "I was looking for him this morning, but I haven't been able to find him. It's as if he vanished without a trace."

"Have you checked the Bunker?"

"I'm about to, but if he's not there I am going to scream." She rushed off the stairs and ran to the woods. Ten minutes later of getting vaguely lost, she found the door of the bunker. She pounded on the door and screamed curses. Surprisingly, the door opened and one of Leo's brothers Jake was sleeping glancing at her.

"Anything you need at this ungodly hour in the morning?" He asked while yawning midsentence and caused Piper to yawn.

"Actually, yes," Piper leaned on the door frame. "Is Leo here?"

Jake frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "No. He let me in last night because I had to work on something, but he went to bed after that. I'm actually going to be heading back to my cabin now. Why? Something wrong?"

Piper held back the urge to scream. "Yes. I can't find him."

Jake suddenly looked worried. "You checked the cabin? Forges? House? Cabins?"

"He's nowhere."

"Beach?"

"I'll search there after, but go tell your brothers and sisters to look for him. I'm fearing the worst...but I think he's missing."

* * *

Beach. Check. Nothing. Around eight in the morning, she returned to Annabeth's cabin and woke her up again. She was a little more cooperative this time.

It took a lot to worry Annabeth, but she seemed concerned about their little mechanic friend. "You checked the bunker?"

"Jake was there, he said Leo let him in last night and went back to his cabin. I checked the forges, beach, showers, a few other cabins, no one has seen him."

Annabeth chewed her lip as she sat down at her table. Most of her siblings were showering, but Annabeth ditched so she could talk to Piper. She took a bagel, but Piper couldn't bring herself to eat. She might have stolen a bite of her bagel, but she didn't feel hungry.

Annabeth ripped her bagel in half and shoved it in Piper's face. "Eat something," she ordered. Piper shook her head, and gazed lost in thought at the tables further away. Annabeth was stubborn, however, and forced Piper's mouth open. "Chew," she said shoving bagel into her mouth. Piper didn't move, and Annabeth moved Piper's jaw up and down like a puppet. "Good Piper," she patted her head like she was talking to a dog. "Now swallow." Piper swallowed on instinct and continued staring at nothing.

Percy joined them shortly after, his hair slightly damp. "Why the long faces?" He asked, and sat across from Annabeth.

"Leo's missing," Annabeth informed him. "Piper's searched the entire camp, and she can't find him."

Percy furrowed his brow. "Are...are you sure? Just like..poof? Like I did when Hera...?"

"Yep."

"What about his toolbelt? He wouldn't leave without it."

"It was hanging off his bunk like it always is." Piper said, and sighed. "I checked everywhere."

Percy was holding Annabeth's hand, but he rubbed the back of her's comfortingly. "Did you call Jason? Maybe the Romans kidnapped him in the night and took off with them." He put on a silly face and said in imitation of Octavian's accent with a slightly German sass attitude. "_Dose filthy Greeks! Ve shall take their beloved mechanic and he shall build us a gargantuan toilet! So I may dump in honor!_"

Annabeth snorted loudly. "Good try, but yeah, call Jason next. I'm gonna search his cabin again, and maybe the bunker."

"He's not in the bunker," Piper said. "Jake was in there alone last night and Leo's the only one who can open it, so he's not in there. Jake already searched."

"Call Jason then."

"I will! I need to find him, especially for today..."

Percy frowned as if something occurred to him. "Isn't it Valentine's day?"  
Annabeth smacked his shoulder from across the table. "Yes it is!"  
"Oh, then I have something for you." He stuck his hand under the table and pulled something- presumably out of his pants. Piper resisted the urge to cover her eyes; and was relieved when he pulled out a single red rose. Gesturing to Annabeth he handed it to her and grinned.  
"I don't want to know where this came from," Annabeth looked up and down from his shoes to his face.  
"Um," Percy said. "I'm gonna look for Leo, then." He untangled his legs from the table and ran off to look for their friend.

"We'll find him," Annabeth promised. "He has to be around here somewhere. Why don't you search his cabin again? I'll go alert the other campers."

"Yeah," Piper said wearily. "Good luck with that."

* * *

Coach Hedge found out and flipped out. He picked up Piper and spun her around and sniffed her hair to make sure she was fine, and then ran throughout the camp holding his bat threateningly at campers and demanding where his other cupcake was.  
"I'll tear 'em to pieces!" He yelled. "No one takes my cupcakes! Where is Leo Valdez!?"

Piper watched her old Coach with concern. "Should we calm him down? He's scaring lots of newer campers."  
Percy snorted. "Are you kidding? This is probably the most fun he's had in forever!"

* * *

Something heavy was on top of him. His hands were pinned down, and his lungs felt solidly trapped under something. His head hurt the most, and he was pretty sure the lights were spinning. Leo only wondered how far he had been out.

He felt like he was underwater. His arms were slow to move, and he twisted his head so slightly and stared at one spot in the floor until his vision stopped turning. Then he realized he was on the floor, and he had one heck of a bruise on the side of his head.

All the sounds around him seemed a bit foggy. Leo heard someone frantically calling his name, but his tongue felt like sandpaper and he could barely croak out a timid "_Help_?"

When he managed to regain his voice he shouted as loud as he could- "HELP!"  
There was someone in the tunnels. Last night, Leo had gone down to get something. He snuck into Piper's cabin and dropped off her Valentine's day present, but came back for something...and hit his head. Then why couldn't he move?

"Leo?" Someone stuck their head into the room. It sounded a lot like Piper.

"Over here," Leo groaned and tried to roll over. "Pipes? Is that you?"

Her footsteps were too fast for his mind to process. Soon her hand was on his forehead, and it felt cold. She grabbed his free arm and tried to pull him out, but Leo cried out because she moved his head. Oh gods, the room was yellow. With dots. And spinning again like he was on a carousel.

"What's on top of you?"

"Part of the wall must have fallen," Leo said. "I'm trapped under it. I also hit my head pretty hard, I can't move very well..."

"I'll get help."

"No! If they move it, the entire place might collapse on top of us! I have to get out myself."

"But-"

"Pipes, I got this." Leo wriggled. "I think I can make my way out. Just...stand back incase the whole thing collapses."

He heard her scurry away, and biting back the urge to vomit as his vision turned from yellow to dangerous red, he slowly crawled out between the rocks and came out from under the rock that had pinned down his back and his legs. Leo crawled on his elbows combat style, probably scraping up his arms.

When he was in a safe zone, he stopped crawling and fell off his arms and onto the floor. Piper helped him up, and he limped to the spare bunk that connected to his bunk in the cabin. His knee felt oddly out of place, and he felt pretty much sore all over.

He expected Piper to be mad at him. And she was. "Leo Valdez!" She started. "Don't you dare _ever _ do something to scare me like that again! Do you hear me! I will _murder _ you four times over and make you feel pain that you've _never_ known before!"

Leo had the nerve to laugh in her face. "Got it. Won't try to die under collapsed walls ever again, cross my heart." He did the action over his chest. "Happy April Fools?"

"It's _Valentine's_ day!"

"Close enough."

* * *

_****__**Unexpected News; Four Years Later**_

* * *

They were lounging freely in Percy's house. His mother and his step-dad had gone out to leave the couples to some alone time- and to go shop for groceries. Percy was learning from Annabeth how to hold a baby's head, and Piper was freaking out. (Not from Percy holding the baby upside down, although that did make her screech.)

Leo was laughing as Annabeth kept scolding him and moving his hands in rough motions so he wouldn't dip the baby's head. A single black curl was over the baby's head, and he was sleeping peacefully even when his father almost dropped him onto the floor.

Annabeth finally gave up, taking the baby from his arms. "Percy, I don't think I trust you with the baby yet."

He looked offended, but Leo offered "Well when you're on Olympus, me and Pipes will watch it for you."

Annabeth looked, if possible, even more horrified at the idea of leaving her baby alone with them than her husband. "Uh, generous offer, but I'll have Chiron watch him instead." She tickled the baby's chin and made baby noises to him.

"What?" Piper winced at her friend. "You don't trust me?"

"Huh? No! I mean, yes, I trust you..." she glanced sideways at Leo. "...I don't trust Leo as much. Didn't he almost blow up your house yesterday?"

"It was an accident!" Leo protested. "I was working with Greek fire, and we all know how dangerous that was! And our house didn't explode, so it's all good."

"What's exploding?" Someone asked from the fire-escape window, and a very concerned Hazel leapt in and landed balanced on the couch. A pigeon flew in next to her, and shifted into a scowling Frank. Jason flew in the window after them and landed on the couch, squashing Leo.

"Ah!" Leo tried to shove his friend off. "I got Jason butt in my face! Get off me!"  
Percy jumped up and sat on Jason so the two of them were using Leo as a chair. He was complaining how fat they were and to _get off him before he lit the couch and their behinds on fire_. They got off him pretty quickly after that.

"I can't feel my legs," Leo proclaimed when he stretched out full length over the furniture and draped his head on Piper's lap. "You guys need to lose weight." He closed his eyes and let her play with his hair while the others talked.

"Something wrong, Piper?" Hazel noticed that she was staring at the floor and clenching her fist as she ran her fingers through Leo's hair and tried to look occupied.

Piper snapped her head up, suddenly realized people were looking at her and making her feel self conscious. Was she showing? "Nothing," Piper felt like she was trying to swallow a quarter. "I'm fine."

Oh gods, Annabeth was going to catch on- holy mother of Hades- just jump out the fire escape and run back to the house...

"Well now that you guys are all here," Percy gestured to the Romans who had just arrived. "Who wants to hold the baby?"

Hazel waved her hand in the air. "Me, me, me!" Annabeth happily handed her the baby, because if she could trust anyone with her kid it was Hazel. And maybe Frank. Not really.

"Happy Valentine's day!" Jason tackled Leo and then Piper and tickled them mercilessly until they laughed. "Mwahaha!"

"Stop!" Leo was choking on his own air and trying to shove Jason away. "You're- you're killing me- hahaha- STOP JASON AHHAAH STOP AHHAA-"

As Leo writhed from Jason's tickles an entire bouquet of flowers magically fell out of his sleeves and onto the floor. Piper raised her eyebrows at them, and Leo rolled off the couch and made a show of picking them all up and presenting them to her like he was proposing. "Jason messed them up," he glared at his friend but turned back to Piper with the happiest look on his face. He hugged her and Piper held the flowers over her face and forced a smile [that probably looked like a grimace] and hid her face over the petals. The strong smell of flowers was intoxicating, but she kept herself from throwing up. And not from the flowers.

Hazel and Frank started talking about something, and Hazel cradled mini Percy in her arms, and Piper found it hard to keep track of the conversation. Her head was spinning, and Leo had his arm around her, and she tried to smell the flowers...

Jason reached over to tickle her side, and she yelped loudly. Everyone looked at her now, and she cupped a hand over her mouth and shoved the flowers into Leo's most confused/concerned face and ran for the nearest wash closet.

Piper tasted breakfast coming up as she tried to keep it down while and stayed near the toilet anyways. She heard the concerned voices from her friends clambering up the stairs after her and she managed a strangled "I'm fine!" and shut the door by pushing it with her foot.

She sighed in relief, when she heard the click of the lock close the door. Unfortunately, Leo was a master mechanic and unbolted the door in a matter of seconds. He pushed it open with his hands over his hips like a sassy drama queen from Mean Girls, and he had the most pissed expression on his face.

"Okay," he knelt next to her. "Something is wrong. And you're going to tell me or so help me-"

"Last night at work we went out for dinner," Piper lied as quickly and convincingly as she could. "I ate something bad. I haven't felt good ever since."

He put the back of his hand over her forehead to test her temperature, and Piper wasn't sure if that was good or bad. He was always naturally overheated himself, so he might not notice anything, or he would be supersensitive to her temperature and figure it out on her own.

"I'm fine," Piper pushed his hand away and managed a fake smile. "Let's just go downstairs and enjoy being with our friends. I'll be perfectly all right by tomorrow."

That was a big lie- she wouldn't be fine for a while. Like more than half a year. And three months. Oh gods she was panicking internally and screaming like she was in a horror film.

Leo's eyes glazed over like she had been charmspeaking him- she was so grateful for that right now, and he believed her.

* * *

They just had to be playing _Scrabble_. Even worse, it was Valentine's day, and the only day of the year when her mother and Eros/Cupid had full reign over everything. Screw life. Piper was so screwed, because she kept hearing the excited voice of her mother screaming and fangirling over it. _Shut up, mother! _ Piper kept trying to tell her mother to be quiet, but Aphrodite was in a state of utter oblivion. No more tumblr for her either. She should block all people related to Aphrodite from that site. It was bad for their health.

It was currently Annabeth's turn, and she was thinking her word out carefully. No doubt it would be some long atrocious word no one knew the meaning of and get her a hundred million points so she could win..for the third time in a row. They had been playing a half-hearted game of _Gonzola_, which only Frank really put any effort in. It was a game about naming countries and going around the globe, and the only competition going on was Annabeth vs. Frank. Frank won, which pissed off Annabeth who decided to play _Scrabble_.

Piper had a few Scrabble letters in front of her. Annabeth put down the word '_electroencephalography_.' How she had that many pieces to begin with, Piper would never understand.

"No way is that a word," Percy said and crossed his arms in a pout. "You made that up!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Thats what you said when I put down the last one. And it's real, it's the word for the study of the brain's electrical activity. Next player."

"That would-a-be-a-me-ah," Leo said in a horrible imitation of an Italian accent. "Oopah!"

Frank gave a half-hearted "Gangman style!" And Jason went wide eyed and backed away from him.  
Leo took that as a cue for him to burst into song. "_Heeeey, sexaaayy laaaayydaaayy!_"

Jason made a noise like a cat being stepped on. "_No_! I hate that song! Be quiet, Leo!"

"Play," Percy pointed to the board while looking directly at Leo. He grumbled and put his hand on his chin and stroked it as he looked at his letters. He smiled like a little kid and added the word - _cat_ - to the board. "Yay!"

Frank turned into a cat and ran around the room with his tail straight up for five minutes while Annabeth laughed. Leo stuck his tongue out at her and then placed more letters. _Cat_ became _catastrophe_. He grinned and counted his points and Annabeth sulked a little.

"You're turn, Pipes," Leo said, leaning back and carefully folding up his legs so he could be more comfortable.

Piper glanced down at her letters. She had three _a_'s, two _e_'s, and a _v_. Great.

Her vision must have been playing with her because the next moment the letters changed and became _tell them_.

Piper quickly shuffled her letters and gave a nervous laugh. _Mom_, she complained in her mind. _Stop that!_

_Oh but dear_, her mother answered almost immediately. _If you don't tell them- and more importantly Leo- then who will?_

"Get out of my head," Piper muttered quietly and hopefully no one heard her. If they did, they had a good job hiding it.  
Now her mother was being cruel because the words started shifting to form another word and Piper snatched them up and held back the urge to break the keys. How dare her mother try and tell her friends when they were- oh gods, she was so scared now. "I'll pass," she said.

Oh gods, oh gods, now they were playing Monopoly. It was Percy/Frank/Hazel vs. Leo/Piper/Jason with Annabeth as the banker and siding with Percy's team. Piper didn't mind, because Leo and Jason were going to be the ones playing it. She didn't feel up to it.

The game dragged on while Percy took many of the spaces and laughed maniacally, with Leo trying to put him out of business and Jason moving their little piece. It was a tiny shoe. A baby shoe. Piper was biting her nails now, tearing her eyes away from the board. Leo rolled a pick a card spot.

"Piper?" She turned back to the game and hoped she didn't look too pale. Jason was holding a card and handed it to her, and she assumed she was supposed to read it.

She had already taken a big breath. "I am pr-" Before she realized what it said and clamped down her mouth. "Uhm, can I get a different one?"

"Against the rules," Annabeth said. She looked a lot more relaxed now that her baby was asleep, upstairs in the guest room and not waking up anytime soon.

Piper thought quickly. She couldn't read this one. She lied and came up with something generic. "Uh, it says...go back twenty spaces."

"No!" Leo shouted and Jason slammed his hands on the ground in defeat. "Agh! We're gonna lose!"

Piper hoped her hand wasn't shaking when she put the card on the bottom of the pile. Her mom was getting more courageous now. They had to play another game, please, any game...

Somehow, Leo and Jason managed to come through. They kicked off all of Percy's hotels and resumed to rob him blind. They celebrated their victory by getting up and dancing around while singing '_We Are The Champions_' as loud as they could. Piper didn't join them, clutching her knees to keep them from shaking.

Hazel suggested Charades, so they were in two teams. Romans versus Greeks. It was movie _Charades_, so the stack of movies they had were in a pile and they picked one with their eyes closed and tried to make their team guess it.

Percy was currently running for their team. He picked up a DVD with the back covered up so they couldn't guess what it was. He set it down, and quickly made a large shape with his hands around mid-waist, smacked his palm with his fist, and pointed at Piper.

She momentarily forgot how to breathe. How could...Percy...She was going to throw up. To her relief, he turned and pointed at Frank as well. The breath she was holding in let go.

"Uhm..." Leo rubbed his chin and Annabeth tilted her head.

"A minute left!" Hazel said, pointing to the timer.

Percy made the motion with his hands again.  
"Large!" Annabeth said.  
Percy shook his head and made a very close point with his hands and made it again.  
"Big?" Leo asked.

Percy nodded enthusiastically. He made the fist with his hand and smacked it.  
"Punch?" Annabeth asked. "Fist? Smackdown?"  
"Smack? Uh, hurt? Hit?"

Percy nodded furiously.  
"Thirty seconds!" Hazel reminded them.

"Oh come on!" Leo was shaking his hands in the air. "Okay so...big hit! Popular movie. Okay."

He made two fingers. "Two words," Leo said. Percy spread out his hands and Annabeth said "Name." Percy pointed at Piper. She shook with fear.  
"Uh...Piper?"  
He shook his head.  
"Aphrodite? Love?"  
"Beauty?"  
Percy nodded his head and rolled his hand like keep going.  
"Beauty...Beautiful?"

He nodded quickly and pointed at Frank. Frank looked surprised. Piper slowly calmed down. "Frank?"  
"Beautiful Franks...What?"  
"Wait...animal. Animal?"  
"Oh! Uh, elephants?"  
"Critter?"  
"Creature?"  
"Ten seconds!"

Percy was jumping up and down and nodding his head. "Beautiful Creatures!" Leo exclaimed.  
"Yes!" Percy gasped and raised his hands in victory. "Woo!"

Jason went next, picking up a movie from their pile. He picked it up and glanced at it, frowning.

He made a distinct hold on his stomach like he was holding a large stomach. Then he pointed at Piper.  
Her voice died in her throat. Frank said "Uh, pregnant?"

Jason nodded.  
"Movie about pregnant...women?" He nodded again.  
Hazel tried when Jason made a silly face. "Funny movie about pregnant women."

Jason clapped his hands like "Yeah!" He held up one finger. "One word. Name."  
Then he pointed at himself, and then the ceiling. "You...sky?" Frank raised an eyebrow.  
"No! Uh, Jupiter?"  
Jason made an act of walking and holding a dress. "Wife...wedding...Wife of Jupiter!"  
"Juno!"  
Jason made a rock out motion with his hands and high-fived Frank. "Aw yeah!"

"Hey guys," Piper said meekly. "Maybe we should play a different game." Not that she had anything against Charades, but she knew if she went up she would end up with a movie spelling out the secret she was trying to keep.

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. "But after Piper goes."  
Her heart sank to her stomach. Absolutely so close to just-

She stood up shakily and balanced herself by gripping the couch. Her knuckles were white. She picked up a movie with her eyes closed. She felt the smooth plastic cover of one and held it up. She peeked.

And almost dropped it. There the title was a 1995 movie, '_I'm Pregnant'_ with the picture of the girl on the front holding a phone and her stomach. Only one person was possibly responsible for this; Aphrodite.  
_I hate you, mom_, Piper thought angrily. _Are you serious with me right now? You hate me._

At least she didn't have to speak. She put down the disk with shaking hands and forced a smile at her group and mentally boiled at her mother. Piper sent her some telepathic messages with some words to her mother she probably wouldn't like.

She pointed to herself and pulled down the edges of her eyes. "Old movie," Percy guessed. Piper nodded.  
Two fingers. "Two words," Annabeth guessed.  
She tried to swallow, but it was like trying to swallow an orange. She pointed to herself.  
"Piper?"  
She pointed to her eyes.  
"I!"  
"I, okay, we have two words. So uh, I am?"  
"I'm!"  
She nodded.  
Reminder of their time came. "One minute!"

Her knees wobbled like they were about to collapse under her. She made a large motion under her stomach and tried to make it look like a small laugh.  
"Baby?"  
"Massages?"  
"Too many trips to McDonalds?" Percy suggested and Annabeth smacked him.  
"Pregnant!" Annabeth guessed. Oh gods.

"I'm Pregnant?" Leo frowned. "That's a movie?"

"Yeah," Piper coughed and cleared her throat to make her answer louder. "Yeah, it is." Oh, how close and she chickened out. Her mom had tried at least, but she wasn't ready. Not yet anyways. How was she even sure? It was...

"Enough with all the pregnant movies," Percy stood up and stretched. "How do you guys feel about dinner?"

"Food!" Frank moaned gratefully and Jason and Percy raced for seats. Jason lost, so he sulked and sat next to Piper who was stuck between Leo and Jason now. Hazel and Frank sat opposite them, Annabeth on Jason's other side and Percy at the head.

"When are your parents coming home?" Hazel asked. Percy shrugged. "Late. My mom wanted to see a movie. She pre-made dinner for us." Annabeth and him warmed up food in the microwave and the stoves while the others talked. "She also said you guys could sleep over," Percy said while he carried things back and forth in the kitchen.

Leo was talking to Hazel and Jason about something, but Frank had his eyes on her. He smiled at her, but Piper dropped her gaze from the table and her hands were folded in her lap and stared at them. Frank's smile shrunk. He pointed to her and asked "What's wrong?"

She picked up her head ever so slowly, trying not to show she was so nervous and scared. "Nothing," she choked. "Perfectly fine."

That wasn't a good answer for Frank, because he seemed even more suspicious. He was glaring at Leo like he had something to do with this (which technically he did but it wasn't really his fault) and Leo noticed this and gave him the most curious expression.

When Percy plopped down the plate of their own personal creation- a mixture of taco meat, chinese food and pizza toppings and salad with some soupy gumbo they liked to call Seven Splits - all on the table.

Annabeth handed her a bowl of tomato soup. When Piper glanced at her, Annabeth whispered "Leo said you weren't feeling well. Plus this had meat and..."

"I'm good," Piper said, and she felt like she was going to pass out. "Thanks, Annabeth."

Annabeth gave her a small smile, but Piper could see the thoughts all confused in her head. She was going to figure it out very soon, oh gods, she was going to die...

She sipped her soup and enjoyed the bland flavor of the Campbell collection and nibbled on a cracker. Leo was enjoying his Seven Split dinner, and Percy was looking at her. She knew he was about to ask something and she braced herself for the worst, but instead he asked her a simpler question while reaching for his water to take a swig. "Pipes, can you pass the salt?"

She didn't mean it. It came out too fast, and her mind had been on panic mode all day. Piper regretted saying it the moment it came out, but it spilled out far too loud and there was no taking it back now. Oops.

"I'm pregnant," Piper blurted out and then clapped her hands over her mouth with horror. Oh no.

The words rippled through the table and the effect was instantaneous. Frank choked and swallowed his fork. He coughed and tried to dislodge it from his airpipe.  
Hazel dropped her glass and it landed on the table without breaking, but spilled her water all over the table and onto her pants.  
Jason inhaled food through his nose and snorted it out with the spicy food now in his nose, swearing loudly.  
Annabeth bumped her knee into the middle of the table and banged her fist on it as she choked on her food.  
Percy took a gulp too big and spewed it out in one big gust all over the table.

Leo blinked a few times and his hair caught fire, and dropped his fork midway into his mouth. Smoke curled in the air and towards the ceiling, and then out the vent near the window. "Uh, could you repeat that?"

"I'm pregnant," Piper whispered as she repeated it.

"_Uh_..." Now everyone was looking at Leo, who looked like he had an atomic wedgie in his pants. He stuttered and tried to form an answer. "I-I- you- _Uhm_, we- I didn't - when- know- did this- _what_- Piper- _uhm_-"

Frank's mouth was hanging open. Percy's eyes were wide enough to snap and fall off his face. Annabeth looked murderous [at Leo]. Hazel looked scandalized. Leo looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

The smoke in Leo's hair reached the kitchen, and the fire alarm went off. Water spewed from the ceiling to put out the fire, and his hair sizzled when the water landed on it. People around them stormed down the stairs or out the fire escapes because now the entire building was put on alert of a fire. Neighbors screamed and yelled for their children and families to get out the bottom and wait on the street. Someone called the fire department and the sound of sirens filled the air in the city around them.

Jason burst out laughing.  
Soon, Frank joined him nervously and Percy laughed with them. Hazel tittered, and Annabeth laughed loudly and obnoxiously while glaring at Leo. Piper giggled a little herself, because all from two words she almost started an apocalypse. Leo laughed too, but it was a little forced and panicked. He was sinking lower and lower into his chair like he was being sucked under the table.

"Oh," Percy slowly stopped laughing and pretended to wipe a tear from his eyes. "That was a good one."

"I was serious," Piper said.

"Yeah, me too. I think we should totally watch that movie."  
Annabeth slapped his arm and he gave her a look like _what?_ "Piper means she is actually..." she left the answer hanging.

Leo's mouth was open and closing like a fish that was suffocating. Percy made a concentrating face, before the lightbulb in his head went off and he went "Oh. _Oh_."

Piper swallowed and waited for the water in the sprinklers to go off before she could trust herself to speak. Dinner was ruined, and now her friends were going to think she was a total freak- Leo had barely proposed to her, and they weren't _married_! Percy and Annabeth had actually gotten married before even _considering _ the prospect of having kids. Oh gods.

Jason looked completely collected and serious now, while she helped clean off the table in silence. Leo wouldn't meet her eyes, and neither could she meet the eyes of anyone else. She felt like a dog who had been caught peeing on the sofa. She was in so much trouble now.

Someone grabbed her shoulder and she turned around very slowly. Percy was looking at her earnestly, a complete poker face so she couldn't guess what was going on in his mind. He broke out into a grin. "I think this calls for a celebration!"

"Cake!" Frank whooped.

"Ice cream!" Jason ran to the freezer and pulled out four large containers. "I say we eat this for dinner instead!"

"You guys have no concept of nutrition," Hazel sighed. "But give me the stawberry swirl one."

"Get used to eating ice cream," Percy handed Piper a container. "You'll have cravings for all kinds of it in the next few months."  
Piper accepted the ice cream, but she didn't know what her friend meant by that.

Soon they all had spoons and they had squished into the couch next to the television and Annabeth put on some random movie but on half-mute so they could talk over it.

"So," Percy poked Piper's leg. "I'm guessing you hadn't told Valdez yet, had you?"  
Leo was sitting next to her and staring at his ice cream bowl in silence. Piper shook her head. "It was kind of..sudden. I hadn't realized it until...last week." She cleared her throat. "Guess he knows now."

"I think he's gone into shock," Frank mused as he tapped Leo's foot. "You in there, Valdez?" He leaned over further and yelled in Leo's ear "Anyone home?"

Hazel swatted his leg. "Frank!"

Leo hadn't moved or even responded to Frank's outburst. He seemed very deeply lost in thought. Possibly trying to remember how this even happened. Piper wasn't quite sure herself.

"I guess that makes sense," Annabeth crossed her legs as she ate more ice cream from the peanut butter explosion container. "You threw up today. Plus you were freaking out during Charades when you got the movie. I'm kinda surprised I didn't put those together."

"Me too," Piper muttered.

"Although," Percy said thoughtfully. "I don't see why you had to announce it when I just asked for salt."  
They all laughed at this, making more jokes and trying to coax Leo back into reality. He only came back when Jason rubbed his head on the couch and shocked Leo by accident. He flew three feet in the air and started cursing at the top of his lungs. When he stopped cursing he dropped his bowl of ice cream, looked at them all very seriously as if this had just occurred to him. "I'm going to be a father," he said in disbelief. Then he passed out and crumpled onto the floor next to Percy.

Annabeth stared at his still body and casually ate more ice cream. "He handled it better than Percy, if I may say that."

* * *

They slept over at the Jackson's. They all had sleeping bags, and they slept in the family room all together with a single baby monitor to keep track of Ethan (what they had named their first son- which actually meant 'brave') while they tried to sleep. They talked very much of the night.

"So," Percy said while trying to stifle a yawn. "What are you going to name your kid?"

Piper was sitting in Leo's lap with his arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. "Don't know," Piper said. "We'll come up with something."

"How about Festus?" Jason teased. "That's a good name. Could be a boy or a girl and you can name the girl Festina."

"No," Piper and Leo said at the same time.

"I kind of like the sound of _Percy II_," Percy flexed his arms.

"Yeah, and I suggested _Leo II_ when you guys had Ethan, but no, you guys didn't like that."

"Well yeah, none of us were gonna name our kids '_Leo II_!'"

"I don't know, we always have Frank and Hazel and Jason and whoever he's with to hope for."  
"_Leo_!"

"Go to sleep," Annabeth groaned. "I'm the one who has to get up at three to take care of Ethan. Shut up and go to sleep."

"Eh, whatever," Frank grumbled and crept into his sleeping bag. Hazel joined in suit to sleep in hers, and Percy snuggled next to Annabeth in his sleeping bag.

Soon they were all fast asleep, but Leo and Piper stayed awake. Leo whispered in her hair "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I was afraid you would be scared," Piper whispered back. "I didn't want to scare you."

"You don't think I am now?"  
Piper adjusted herself so they were face to face. "Pipes, I'm honestly freaking out about this. But it's okay, because I'm with you. We can make this work."

"Leo?"  
"Yeah?"  
"You realize we're going to have to get married after this, right?"

Leo sighed. "I was hoping for a little more time, but you're right."  
"My mom is gonna _freak_."  
"...Pipes, is this an April Fools joke?"

"No," Piper frowned. "Why would I joke about something like this?"  
"I don't know, you've always managed to find ways to surprise me."

"This isn't a joke, Leo. You're going to be a father, as much as that horrifies me," she said the last part as a tease. He held her tighter and kissed her forehead.  
"That horrifies me too, this kid is gonna be screwed if I'm his dad. Can't Jason just be his dad or something?"  
She shook her head at him. He made a face, and then he gasped. Piper sat straight up, looking around in the dark. "What? What is it?"

"Oh, gods of Olympus," Leo whimpered. "You're father is going to strangle me."  
Piper finally laughed like old Piper for the first time that night. "That's all you're worried about?"

"Mainly, yes. He's going to strangle me, boil me, feed me to cannibals, put me through a meat grinder, cook me into a hamburger and throw me into a volcano. I am so dead."  
Piper cushioned herself into Leo's chest. "It's okay, Leo, he won't do all that."

"Are you kidding!? He's Tristan McLean! He will kill me and make it look like an accident and no one will ever know what happened to me!"  
"I think you're overreacting."  
"_I'm_ overreacting? I think _you're_ underreacting!"  
Piper closed her eyes and slowly drifted off. "Just go to sleep, Leo. It's only February."

"I'm not sure if I'm dreaming or not," Leo grumbled as he pinched his arm. "It seems like a dream."

"Sleep, Leo," Piper ordered and he kissed her forehead and fell asleep next to her.

Valentine's day certainly wasn't for fools, as the daughter of love and the son of crafting fire had learned.

* * *

_Love is everywhere, even in the fools. For they aren't fools if they have love._

* * *

**_fin_**


End file.
